Two Galveston Ball High School students were arrested Tuesday after authorities said they found a gun in one of the student’s vehicles.

Around 7:45 a.m., Galveston police said they investigated reports of a vehicle burglary Monday in the 1500 block of Strand Avenue in which a handgun was stolen out of a man’s vehicle.

The man also had surveillance video of the burglary.

After reviewing video of the incident, police were able to identify 17-year-old Daryus Cooper, a current Galveston Ball High School student, as the person responsible for the burglary.

Police said Cooper admitted to the burglary and taking the gun.

Cooper told authorities that he hid the gun in another student’s vehicle that was parked on campus.

The owner of the car, a 15-year-old student, told authorities that she knew Cooper put the gun in her vehicle.

The gun was retrieved out of the glove box of the vehicle that was parked in the Galveston Ball High School parking lot.

The female student was arrested and charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon in a weapon free zone and has been remanded to the Juvenile Detention Facility in Texas City. As she is a juvenile, her name is not being released.

Cooper has been charged with burglary of a motor vehicle and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

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SAN ANTONIO — If a businessman takes the ostrich approach — burying his head in the sand — to avoid evidence that his colleagues are perpetrating a fraud, is he also guilty of that fraud?

Probably — but state Sen. Carlos Uresti is no ostrich, defense attorneys insisted Tuesday morning in their last opportunity to sway the jury.

The San Antonio Democrat, who’s been on trial for the past month on 11 felony counts, including criminal fraud and money laundering, sat expressionless Tuesday morning as prosecutors and defense attorneys quibbled one last time over whether he was aware of the Ponzi scheme being perpetrated at the now-defunct oil field company FourWinds Logistics, where he served as general counsel, a 1 percent owner and a recruiter of investors, according to court documents.

That question is now in the hands of the jury, which began deliberations Tuesday afternoon in a case that has the potential to end Uresti’s career in the Senate.

Standing beneath several courtroom screens showing a colorful cartoon image of one of those ignorant ostriches, Uresti’s attorneys argued the government hadn’t proven that Uresti was aware of the company’s shady dealings — even aware enough to, ostrich-like, intentionally avoid learning more.

And, defense attorneys argued, the jury should take care not to convict Uresti because of preconceived biases against politicians.

The criminal justice system doesn’t convict people “because of foolishness, mistakes or negligence,” defense attorney Tab Turner said. “It takes intentional misconduct. It takes knowledge of a crime. They haven’t proven that knowledge. Don’t supply it for them because a senator’s sitting in the room.”

He paused. “That’s what elections are for.”

The animal metaphor came during closing arguments of the month-long trial. If convicted on any counts, the two-decade veteran of the Texas Legislature would be ineligible to continue serving his district, though he could keep his seat during appeals. He also faces jail time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Prosecutors have argued that Uresti knew about the company’s fraud scheme and that he was in possession of forged financial documents with obvious errors and omissions. Uresti was driven, prosecutors allege, by personal financial struggles to bring investors into a scheme he knew was fraudulent — and he used his reputation as a state legislator to lend credibility to the sketchy investment.

“It’s brought to his attention. He knows the documents are changing — ever-changing. They don’t add up. The sales presentations: lies, lies, lies. The bank statements that happen to perfectly address an investor concern,” said the lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Blackwell. “With all that information available to him, he made a choice. He made a choice to bring others to this con man.”

To support their argument, over the last several weeks prosecutors have called more than 20 witnesses, including defrauded investors, former FourWinds associates and FBI personnel. Denise Cantu, the key government witness who lost about $800,000 to FourWinds’ scheme, testified earlier this month that Uresti leveraged their sexual relationship to persuade her to invest. Uresti has denied that they had an affair.

Defense attorneys have insisted throughout the trial that though fraud plagued FourWinds, Uresti was unaware and uninvolved. Uresti, they said, acted in good faith — and he, like FourWinds’ unfortunate investors, was misled by former CEO Stan Bates. Bates pleaded guilty to eight felonies last month.

“Not one person sat on that witness stand and said, ‘Carlos Uresti knew we were doing this,’” Turner told the jury Tuesday morning. “Not one witness.”

The government bore the burden of proving Uresti guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Arguing that prosecutors had not met this standard, the defense has asked U.S. District Judge David Ezra twice this month to dismiss the case.

Ezra refused both times. He told attorneys there was “a lot of telling evidence” against Uresti. The judge listened to most of the closing arguments Tuesday reclined in his chair with his arms folded over his chest.

Still, defense attorneys revisited that argument Tuesday morning, spending a large chunk of their argument time defining terms like “reasonable doubt” and criminal “intent” to demonstrate that the government had not sufficiently proven Uresti’s guilt.

Uresti is also set for trial in May on separate bribery charges.

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President Trump has issued strict new sanctions against Russia in response to Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. The sanctions come in the form of stiff tariffs on a variety of Russian imports, including:Imitation alligator skin watchbandsOrange bow tiesGasoline-powered alarm clocksBulletproof jockey shortsLatex inflatable male sex dollsLeft-handed catcher’s mitts8 volt flashlight batteriesMeat and fish flavored yogurtCanned eggsAmerican flagsWooden bicyclesFootball Bats
Items on the list will be subject to a 70% import tax, starting in 2021.
“The President is taking this stern approach to our dear friends in Russia in order to let them know that he is serious” Sarah Huckleberry-Sanders said in a White House briefing this afternoon, adding “He has taken this major step, even though there was no collusion, and the Russian efforts actually were more helpful to the Clinton campaign.”
The mood at the Kremlin was gloomy after the announcement. A spokesman for Vladimir Pootin told reporters that the sanctions might ignite a trade war, which could be costly to both sides.
“We no have doubt this Tromp is, how you say, koo-koo for the Puffs of Cocoa”, said Russian Press Liason Boris Sukmeovsky, “This has made proof of his devil coming outside of himself now.”
The CEO of Spalding, an American manufacturer of left-handed catcher’s mitts, has applauded the measure, saying it will create an additional job in the United States.

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A 51-year-old employee was stabbed in the neck during an argument at a Galveston tire shop Monday, police said.

Witnesses said Charles Schatlowitz and a customer were involved in a verbal altercation when the customer stabbed Schatlowitz, a mechanic, in the neck around 3 p.m. at the A&A Tire Shop in the 5700 block of Stewart Road.

“My dad’s a good man. He’s a mechanic. He helps people as much as he can,” Schatlowitz’s daughter Sharla Schatlowitz said. “For somebody to sit there and do that to him, that’s evil.”

The man who stabbed Schatlowitz left the scene. Police are searching for him. He is described as being black, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs about 180 pounds, had a shaved head and was wearing a dark shirt.

The shop’s owner said the argument began when the customer tried to use an air hose.

“Unfortunately, the mechanic went and unhooked the air hose. The other person got mad and then stabbed him here,” said the owner of the tire shop, Marco Rabago, pointing at his neck.

Schatlowitz was taken to an area hospital and rushed into surgery, police said. They said he made it through surgery and is in stable condition.

The family is hoping for a quick arrest.

“The main concern now is for him to be found and be brought to justice,” Sharla Schatlowitz said.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Galveston Police Department at 409-765-3702 or Crime Stoppers at 409-763-TIPS (8477).

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The roommate of a handcuffed man who shot and wounded a deputy last month before killing himself was shot several times by another deputy at the scene, authorities said Friday.

Harris County deputies said they had taken Matthew Cobb, 35, into custody the night of Jan. 31 at a home on Kiplands Way Drive in connection with an earlier domestic disturbance when Cobb pulled a hidden gun from his waistband and shot one of two deputies who were at the scene in the arm.

Investigators said that when Cobb began firing, the two deputies and Cobb’s roommate began running downstairs. When the uninjured deputy reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned back and fired at the roommate, investigators said. The roommate was hit several times, investigators said.

After the incident, investigators said they were still trying to determine who shot Cobb’s roommate.

In the frenzy, Cobb ran into a bathroom and killed himself.

The roommate, who suffered critical injuries, and the injured deputy were treated at a hospital.

Surveillance video that was first reported on by KPRC 2 showed the injured deputy holding his arm and falling to the ground. Moments later, several deputies were seen carrying a wounded man from the home.

Deputies said they are still investigating the case.

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The J.M. Smucker Co. is withdrawing some shipments of dog food amid reports that it could be tainted with traces of a drug used to euthanize animals.

The company said Thursday it is pulling back shipments of several varieties of wet canned Gravy Train, Kibble ‘N Bits , Skippy and Ol’ Roy brands. It said it is investigating how the euthanasia drug pentobarbital got into its supply chain and is focusing on a single supplier of a minor ingredient used at one manufacturing facility.

The recalls come after WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., said it tested 15 cans of Gravy Train. It found nine cans, or 60 percent of the sample, tested positive for pentobarbital.

Smucker cited experts noting that the low levels of the drug cited in the report do not pose a threat to pets.

“However, the presence of this substance at any level is not acceptable to us and not up to our quality standards,” said the company, which is based in Orrville, Ohio. It said it does not use meat from euthanized animals in its pet food.

A federal indictment against 13 Russian nationals accused of conspiring to defraud the United States by meddling in the 2016 presidential election says that co-conspirators posing as U.S. citizens communicated with an American who was “affiliated with a Texas-based grassroots organization.”

The indictment from a grand jury convened by Special Counsel Robert Mueller doesn’t appear to identify that person. But it says the alleged conspirators “learned from the real U.S. person that they should focus their activities on ‘purple states like Colorado, Virginia & Florida.'”

Afterward, the indictment alleges, the co-conspirators “commonly referred to targeting ‘purple states’ in directing their efforts.

The indictment, which also targeted a Russian organization called the Internet Research Agency, says Russians waged “information warfare” starting in 2014 and throughout the 2016 election with fake identities and social media accounts.

Mueller was tasked in May 2017 to investigate election meddling and possible collusion in Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election. He has already filed charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort over money laundering, conspiracy against the United States and more. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to giving false testimony to the FBI in the case.

Mueller is also reportedly investigating Trump for obstruction of justice. Trump has denied any collusion or obstruction.

According to the indictment, the Russians were trying to spread “derogatory information” about Hillary Clinton and some of Trump’s Republican primary opponents to elevate Trump — including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

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Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush lives in an Austin mansion he financed at a bank owned by a major Republican donor who employed his wife, Austin lawyer Amanda Bush.

But voters would be hard-pressed to connect all those dots.

Bush’s name doesn’t appear in online property appraisal records for the 4,000-square-foot house he bought in a gated West Austin enclave in 2014. And the $850,000 mortgage from donor Brandon Steele’s East Texas bank isn’t disclosed on the personal financial statements that Bush, like all state candidates, must file.

The house — with four bedrooms, a fireplace in the master bedroom and a pool out back — is legally owned by a family trust that also isn’t disclosed in Bush’s personal financial statements.

For all practical purposes, it is a secret mansion.

That secrecy raises questions about whether Bush violated state ethics laws — his campaign says he has not — or if he’s just found a loophole you can drive a Texas-sized pickup through.

Under Texas law, candidates must disclose a “beneficial interest” in real estate, along with any loans over $1,000. But it’s not clear if those obligations apply to the kind of trust the Bushes set up. Bush aides say they don’t, and an official at the Texas Ethics Commission said the agency apparently has not yet encountered this type of scenario.

“I’m not aware of any opinions from the commission specifically addressing these facts,” said Ian Steusloff, general counsel at the Ethics Commission. “Whether that constitutes a beneficial interest would depend on the facts. Every case is different.”

In a written statement, Bush’s political director Ash Wright dismissed any reporting on Bush’s private trust and the undisclosed $850,000 loan as “another absurd fake news story from the liberal media” — though errors discovered by The Texas Tribune later prompted the campaign to promise that Bush will amend his ethics filings.

Wright said Bush put the house in a trust to prevent disclosure of his address in county property records — for his family’s personal safety.

“Commissioner Bush purchased his home just like every other family does by taking out a mortgage at a bank. For security reasons, the Commissioner used a trust to buy the house to protect his family’s address from being publicly listed,” Wright wrote in the statement. “Having received death threats, he thought it wise to protect his family.”

Longtime ethics lawyer Buck Wood, who helped draft the bill that produced the personal financial disclosure requirement in Texas, said failing to reveal major assets and loans at the very least violates the spirit of state ethics law. He said requiring the disclosure of financial ties between political benefactors and officeholders was one of the main goals of the watershed 1973 ethics reforms.

It was a debate animated by the abuses of the 1971 Sharpstown Scandal, which featured allegations of financial misconduct by the Democrats who dominated Texas politics at the time.

“This is the root cause of the problem that we passed the ethics bill for in the first place. It was to find out if you’ve got conflicts of interest,” said Wood, a Democrat. “You have a financial relationship that’s involving hundreds of thousands of dollars with somebody who is interested in what goes on in your office, yet you don’t have any idea how this is being financed?”

Wood said if Bush’s interpretation of the ethics law is correct — that the assets and liabilities of such trusts don’t have to be disclosed — other politicians will follow his lead.

“Everybody will start doing this,” Wood said.

Bush campaign spokesman Lee Spieckerman said Bush and his wife are both the creators and the beneficiaries of the trust. He said keeping the trust, the house and its financing arrangement private is allowed under state ethics law.

“The whole reason behind the [personal financial statement] is to show any potential conflicts of interest that might affect an officeholder’s discharging of his/her official duties,” Spieckerman said in an email. “The Bush home obviously doesn’t pose such a conflict.”

Steele, the donor and bank owner, said he had no involvement with or connection to Bush’s trust. A six-figure donor to the 2016 effort to get Bush’s father, Jeb Bush, elected president, Steele said he considered the Bush family to be friends.

“Very sweet people. I count it a privilege to have gotten to know the whole family over the years,” Steele said. “I hope they consider me a friend to them as well.”

A Tyler businessman and board chairman of American State Bank in Arp, Texas, Steele has given George P. Bush’s campaign more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind donations, including numerous trips on his private plane and a $32,000 in-kind donation to hire country singer Joe Nichols for a 2014 election-night party.

He said that because of privacy laws and the threat of fraud against consumers his bank does not “divulge anything about our customers” and therefore he couldn’t talk about any loans his bank may or may not have made to the nephew of former President George W. Bush.

Steele confirmed that Amanda Bush was a senior vice president and non-equity partner at one of his companies, Steele Resources. George P. Bush disclosed his wife’s employment at Steele Resources on the personal financial statement covering the 2015 calendar year but failed to report it for 2016 even though she worked at Steele Resources most of that year.

“Thank you for pointing out this error!” Spieckerman, the Bush spokesman, wrote in a follow-up email. “We inadvertently left Steele Resources off of the 2016 PFS and will amend.” Bush will also amend his reports to add three nonprofit boards related to oversight of the Alamo, Spieckerman said.

Bush’s campaign noted that former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, his GOP opponent, also left off an Alamo-related nonprofit from his disclosures when he was at the helm of the General Land Office. Patterson acknowledged the error and said, “I’ll fix it.”

Bush’s home, nestled on a cul-de-sac in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Austin, was most recently valued on county tax rolls at $1.5 million. Described in a real estate listing as a home with “Mexican flair” boasting “city views,” the house has a Spanish tile roof, four bedrooms, three and half baths and a three-car garage.

Once the Tribune found out the land commissioner lived in the tony abode, the connection to Steele’s bank could be found in county property records; Steele’s campaign contributions to Bush and other candidates are a matter of public record.

The Tribune asked his campaign why the land commissioner took such elaborate steps to block the disclosure of his home address from county tax rolls in the first place. People with his military background — Bush served as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan in 2010 — can request confidentiality by filling out a simple form and checking the appropriate box.

Spieckerman said the family has received “suspicious packages” in addition to death threats and wanted confidentiality for both their home and their rental property, not only to protect themselves but also their tenants.

So Bush created the trust for the home property and has used the exemption for former soldiers in combat zones to keep an Austin rental property valued at $388,000 — in the Caswell Lofts overlooking Pease Park — off the Travis County Appraisal District’s online database since January of 2015. By law, though, the exemption only applies to a person’s home address.

After the Tribune inquired under freedom of information laws why the rental property’s ownership had been deemed confidential, the appraisal district abruptly informed Amanda Bush on Feb. 7 that it would rescind the exemption she had applied for — and got — a little over two years ago.

“Dear Mrs. Bush, in responding to a request for public information it came to our attention that confidential protection was erroneously granted to your property,” county officials wrote. “We are removing the confidential protection from the property as it is not your home address as required by Section 20.025 of the Texas Property Tax Code.”

Jerry Patterson and the Texas General Land Office have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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From Tomball to Pearland, and all over the greater-Houston area, AT&T is in the middle of a massive project to speed up its internet service. But as it digs and tunnels new cables for miles underground, it is leaving major damage in its wake.

KPRC2 News dug deeper to find out what you can do to protect your property.

Loud machinery and flags marking underground utilities are the sounds and signs of progress for AT&T’s new Gigapower project. Contractors are installing fiber lines underground in neighborhood’s all over greater Houston, but AT&T’s progress is causing major setbacks for many families.

Joyce Skala’s home in Cypress burned to the ground when contractors hit an electric line.

“Everything you look at when you leave your house in the morning, it was gone,” Skala told KPRC2 News consumer expert Amy Davis two months after the Nov. 14 fire. “I have not heard from a soul — not one. Not even a representative of a representative.”

The day after Skala’s fire, AT&T contractors hit an electric line in Shelli Moore’s yard in another neighborhood. It was a fix she was told would cost about $2,000.

“That would break me,” she said. “I have no idea where I would come up with that kind of money, but we have to have lights and heat,” Moore said.

While she worried, workers kept digging, hitting a gas line two days later, and another one in the same neighborhood four days after that.

On Facebook, homeowners shared the same stories of AT&T from Sugar Land to Pearland: Breaking down fences and not replacing them, tearing up yards and cutting gas lines.

Contractors are using pneumatic missiles to bore through the ground several feet deep. Crews then push pliable piping all the way through the tunnel. The pipes run the length of several houses, up to a block, but hitting another line in its path can damage property several streets away.

“It wasn’t even at my house,” Skala said. “It started four houses down.”

When fire marshals showed up to investigate, the report showed how contractors pointed fingers. The owner of Connect Links, subcontracted by NX Utilities and contracted by AT&T, told investigators, “There was no way that his company was involved in the fire.”

“I couldn’t get anywhere with AT&T,” homeowner Anni Shugart said.

Her Cypress home was damaged in the electric surge that destroyed Skala’s home. When she filed a claim with AT&T for her damages, she, like others, received a denial letter. AT&T told her to contact contractor NX Utilities instead.

Shugart finally filed with her own insurance company so she could start repairs, but now she’s out her $4,500 deductible.

“Well, I hope I’ll get it back eventually,” she said. “It’s a lot of money.”

KPRC2 asked AT&T how many claims it has received and denied stemming from the fiber project. A representative declined to answer.

When asked who is ultimately responsible, real estate attorney Nikolas Spencer said, “All of them are.”

Spencer said everyone from the guy with the shovel to AT&T’s top brass bears some responsibility.

“If they know that this particular subcontractor is routinely causing fires at people’s houses, or even just nicking the lines themselves, that’s a repeated and dangerous situation that AT&T is on notice as happening. They’re responsible for that,” Spencer said.

If contractors have caused damage to your home and are giving you the runaround in paying for repairs, an attorney may be able to help. Homeowners looking to prevent problems before they happen can take advice from victims.

“I think I would definitely take a day off work and be here when they were in my backyard,” Moore said.

If you can’t be home, find a neighbor who can help monitor the progress.

Contractors are required to call 811 to have all underground lines marked before they begin digging, but you can call, too, to have gas, electric and phone lines marked at no charge.

Take pictures of your property before crews start digging in case they fail to put it back the way it was.

AT&T wouldn’t talk with us on camera for this story, but a representative sent the following statement via email:

“We are aware of these issues and I’d refer you to NX Utilities, who can update you on the specific cases you mentioned. There is no one available for an on-camera interview. Below is our official company media statement in response to your inquiry and some background information about how we work to avoid construction issues and when they do occur work quickly to resolve them.”

AT&T media statement:

“We have helped to position Houston as a gigabit city by bringing our fastest internet connections to more than 600,000 homes, apartments and small businesses in the area.

“Our goal is to minimize impact on residents before, during and after construction and to keep them informed through a variety of means throughout the network expansion process.

“If construction-related issues do occur, we work quickly to resolve and restore any impacts from our work.

“Some additional information on our process that may be helpful background:

“We have dozens of supervisors and inspectors in the field to ensure our contractors are performing to our standard. We work closely with city officials to ensure our work is done in a timely and orderly fashion. Our contractors are trained to obtain proper permitting, closely follow local construction codes, and abide by rules governing rights-of-way and property easements.
“It is our practice to place door hangers at each residence and place signage within subdivisions to identify what’s taking place and how to reach us in the event of an issue. We track damages and other issues and review performance with our contractors performing the work. As we identify poor performers, we cull those out.
“Whether large or small, these damages impact the public and that is not lost on us. Damage can occur for a number of reasons, from contractor error to locates not being accurate. Before we begin a project, we talk with locating firms to provide them with some high-level visibility into where we anticipate completing work on a regular basis. Furthermore, as a part of the large project locate process, we typically provide 30-60 days’ notice versus the minimum 10 days.
“We are constantly reviewing our processes and vendors to evaluate our efforts. We make changes as needed to ensure improvements in the process. We work with excavators, other utility owners, locaters, and state and local municipalities to identify best practices of our own forces, that of our contractors, and their sub-contractors.”

KPRC2 reached out to NX Utilities. General Counsel Paul Kestenbaum sent the following message via email:

“Thank you for contacting NX Utilities. We take any complaints from residents in the areas where we work very seriously,” Kestenbaum said in the email. “We work very hard to resolve them quickly in order to minimize any disruptions. We are working with multiple parties and their insurers to address all concerns as quickly as possible. NX Utilities has been and will continue to work within the requirements of all state and local laws that govern our industry.

“As to the specific cases you referenced:

“Nov. 14: I suggest you review the Fire Marshal’s report and supplement on the fire to fully understand the causes of the damage. There were many companies involved and the investigators and insurance companies are working to determine the final report. We are in the process of working the claims we have received related to this incident as expeditiously as possible.
“Nov. 15: This service line was not properly marked by the utility company. We have been in contact with the homeowner on a regular basis so we can complete restoration work once the weather improves. A temporary line to repair the issue was placed the day of the occurrence and the line was permanently repaired on Jan. 1/3/18. We previously had told the homeowner that we will cover the cost of the temporary connection and are waiting for submission of CPS invoices for the temporary line.
“Nov. 17: This gas line was accidently (sic) struck by a shovel during the required hand dig process of locating the gas line. The proper authorities were notified immediately and service was restored within hours. The occurrence happened mid-day, although it did take until evening to complete the restoration.
“Nov. 21: This damage resulted from utility service line not being properly marked, which public records filed by the power utility confirm. During the repair of the line, the power utility removed the fence and reported to us that it would put it back up upon completion of repairs. All other normal and customary restoration work was completed by NX the same day.”

“I support the 2nd amendment but in light of the recent tragedy I find your ad with you firing a gun troubling and bad taste. I am a Republican.”

A Rice University political science professor said Wall can bounce back from the mis-timed ad.

“While this ad will certainly hurt Kathaleen Wall with general election voters, that election doesn’t occur until November. Among Republican primary voters, it’s unlikely to hurt her all that much,” professor Mark Jones said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has reversed a decision to lay off more than 100 older troopers, according to associations representing agency workers. The troopers are employed under an agency program that allowed them to retire and then be rehired in order to collect retirement benefits and a salary.

The department made a decision in December to cut the positions of 117 law enforcement officers to make up for state-mandated budget cuts for the current biennium, according to a DPS memo. The decision was followed by backlash from several state lawmakers who claimed the decision unfairly targeted older officers.

On Thursday, officials from the Department of Public Safety Officers Association and the Texas State Troopers Association confirmed the department reversed the decision, allowing the troopers employed under the retire/rehire program to stay on in their current roles.

“I’m happy for the troopers. They deserve it,” said state Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, the first lawmaker who criticized the layoff decision. “We praise law enforcement at every turn. We needed to come through on this.”

DPS has looked for ways to balance its budget since the end of the legislative session last May, almost always to public outcry. In December, the department said with a 4 percent budget cut and a requirement to hire 250 new troopers under border security funding, the elimination of the positions was necessary. The troopers were to be laid off May 31.

Nevárez and Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, scoffed at the proposal and asked the department to overturn the decision, saying it was picking young recruits over veteran officers. The officers association released a memo saying the Legislature didn’t intend for budget cuts to mean eliminating troopers and pointed to a budget provision that would allow the department to shift money around to prevent any trooper layoffs.

The Texas House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee held a hearing earlier this month on the decision, and DPS Director Steve McCraw told the lawmakers that the agency was working on a solution and that it would cost $19 million to keep the positions. But, he said, the money didn’t need to come from outside of the DPS.

“Some of the challenge is having the flexibility to use our existing funds. It’s not necessarily additional funds,” McCraw said.

It appeared they worked something out. Neither the associations nor Nevárez gave details on how the budget problems were fixed, but they said it’s happened. The Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story.

Jimmy Jackson, president of the officers association, said McCraw called him Wednesday afternoon to tell him the Legislative Budget Board had signed off on a solution to keep funding the troopers’ positions. He said the solution involved the offices of the Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

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With virtually every position already a lock for the Houston Astros at the beginning of spring training, the toughest decision manager A.J. Hinch might have to make this spring is which of his talented pitchers won't make the rotation.On a championship team with Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel, newcomer Gerrit Cole and […]

The Dallas Mavericks have hired outside counsel to investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct by former team president Terdema Ussery in a Sports Illustrated report that described a hostile workplace for women.Ussery was accused of making sexually suggestive remarks to several women. He spent 18 years with the team before going to the sports apparel company […]

The NBA has fined outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 for comments about tanking during a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving.Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday the fine was for "public statements detrimental to the NBA." The podcast with Erving was posted Sunday, the day the All-Star game was played in Los Angeles.Cuban […]

The first half of the NBA season has been one to remember for the Houston Rockets. It has been chock-full of buzzer beaters and jaw-dropping, last-second wins, and who can forget James Harden's 60-point triple double?What has been your favorite play so far? The Rockets want to hear from you. Voting could win you four […]

Forrest Whitley, the Houston Astros top pitching prospect, has been suspended for 50 games.The team announced that the office of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred gave Whitley the suspension for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program."We're disappointed in the outcome. We support Major League Baseball's drug program and we do everything […]

Primetime Spotlight The first two runs of women's bobsled began the night. Elana Meyers Taylor is seeking redemption after winning silver in Sochi. She has been at the top of her game since arriving in PyeongChang, posting some of the fastest training times. After the first two runs, her sled - including brakeman Lauren Gibbs […]

The long, long wait is over.Team USA ended their 42-year Olympic medal drought in cross-country skiing Wednesday and they made American cross-country history in the process.Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall became the first American cross-country skiers to capture a gold medal by winning the women's team sprint at the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre in PyeongChang, South […]

Nigeria was winning the Olympic women's bobsled race.Yes, really.That sentence is 100 percent accurate - albeit with some massive reservations. The Nigerians were the second sled down the track in the opening heat of the women's competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics, and over the first few turns of the course they actually were going along […]

Major League Baseball players will honor victims of last week's shooting in Florida by wearing Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School hats at spring training games this week.Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday all 30 teams will wear the school hats during pregame warmups for their exhibition openers. Players, managers, coaches and umpires will have the […]

The Houston Dynamo showed off a new look Tuesday.The team revealed a new jersey that will be worn during the upcoming season.The black jerseys have a block of orange on the front that fades to a red, a la the Astros classic rainbow jerseys. The tonal stripes across the chest represent the diversity of the […]

Police arrest 2 students for stealing gun and later hiding it in vehicle at Galveston high school. Jose R. ... Two high school students were arrested Tuesday for stealing a handgun and concealing it in a vehicle parked on campus, according to a press release from the Galveston Police Department.

A man is in the hospital after a violent fight at this Galveston tire shop ended with a brutal stabbing. (KTRK). KTRK. Tuesday, February 20, 2018 09:31PM. GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) --. A Galveston woman is pleading for help finding the man who stabbed her dad in the neck while he was at work.

The Port of Galveston, joined by Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines, filed a lawsuit asking Port Commissioners to reconsider. In March 2017, the rate increase was reduced. Then the Galveston County Daily News reported earlier this month that the number of fog delays in 2017 was more than ...

GALVESTON, Texas—Port officials say that dilapidated facilities are the most pressing threat to Galveston's public docks and could require as much as $250 million to fix. The Galveston County Daily News reports some port tenants want to increase operations, but the cash-strapped docks have to ...

The Galveston Bay Foundation said over the past couple of weeks they have received reports of trash in the area. "We've started talking about an initial volunteer clean up to start cleaning up that site," Galveston Bay Foundation Water Quality Manager Sarah Gossett said. "Knowing that the problem is so ...

GALVESTON, Texas- Two students were arrested Tuesday after police say they found a gun in a vehicle on Ball High School's campus. According to the Galveston Police Department, they were able to view surveillance video from a robbery which occurred Monday in the 1500 block of Strand Avenue.

GALVESTON, Texas - Two Galveston Ball High School students were arrested Tuesday after authorities said they found a gun in one of the student's vehicles. Around 7:45 a.m., Galveston police said they investigated reports of a vehicle burglary Monday in the 1500 block of Strand Avenue in which a ...

(ICEE: Galveston, TX) -- A new conference, titled “ISO 9001 and ISO 10018: Enterprise Engagement in Action,” will be held May 7–8, 2018, in Galveston, Texas, and will provide the first formal education program for professionals and organizations committed to implementing the quality management ...

Abbott was expected to join Dokupil later today to speak at a rally in Bellaire and Wednesday in Galveston. The feuding began in earnest with the endorsements of Davis and several others suspected of making the Dirty Dozen list by the Texas House Republican Caucus. “Sarah Davis,” the Caucus said ...

The McDade High School Band received a second place trophy in the Battle of the Bands after marching in the Galveston Island Mardi Gras Parade on Feb. 10. The 34 member band, who traveled with numerous parents and community members to Galveston, is under the direction of McDade Band ...

The University of Texas Medical Branch today announced that researchers have uncovered evidence that parts of the Zika virus closely resemble parts of the host's own immune system, which may trigger the host's body to attack itself.

Texas A&M University at Galveston on Monday announced that four marine transportation students at the university have been named the first recipients of the Morton S. Bouchard Jr. Memorial Scholarship.

TrumpWatch

Trump mulling arming US teachers22 Feb 2018 04:14Press TVUS President Donald trump is considering arming teachers in the country in the backdrop of a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Trump met Wednesday with some of the survivors of the recent attack in the State Dining Room of the White House.
On …

Trump: 'Arm teachers to stop more school shootings'22 Feb 2018 03:50France 24Trump also promised "very strong" background checks on gun owners during the poignant "listening session," in which he heard first-hand accounts from bereaved parents and friends, and schoolchildren who narrowly escaped with their own …

US students protest gun laws, Trump considers arming teachers22 Feb 2018 03:41BD News 24The unprecedented lobbying effort by groups of teenagers and parents at the White House and at the Florida statehouse in Tallahassee played out as fellow students staged classroom walkouts and rallies in cities across the country.
Trump, in an emotional …

Trump Suggests Arming Teachers as Solution to Increase School Safety22 Feb 2018 03:40KTLAPresident Donald Trump, after listening to a series of emotional stories and pleas to enhance school safety at the White House Wednesday, floated the idea of arming teachers and school staff, an idea that was met with support from many of the attendees.
“ …

Donald Trump Jr speech will send mistaken message: Democratic Senator22 Feb 2018 03:28Indian ExpressBy: PTI | Washington |
Published: February 22, 2018 8:49 am
Donald Trump Jr., son of US President Donald Trump. (Source: AP)
Democratic Senator Robert has written a letter to the US Ambassador to India to ensure that, son of the US president, who is …

There is a global cabal/mafia. its is the banks and it owns the money supply. via IMF BIS and world bank. because they have infinite money, they own nearly EVERTHING via corporations via shell corps and umbrella corps. its all compartmentalized. so no one part knows what the other is doing unless you are at […]

While this sub is progressively getting targeted more and more obviously, and while reddit continues to deteriorate and we all know what those problems entail, there is good news. First of all, you are all being told you need to be scared of Russian bots and propaganda and blah blah blah. With all of this […]

In the snapchats that circulated during the event, there is one showing a black girl laying in a pool of blood who looks to be deceased. However, in the lists and images of victims there isn't anyone that looks to have her skin tone? Did this girl miraculously survive or does anyone have any information […]

Ss the title! The sub has gone from angry shills attacking threads to basically flooding all posts with agenda politics. So many things at 0 and are obvious manipulation. They want it to seem that things are being accepted by conspiracy thinkers by sheer volume like so many people are posting this then it must […]

I have called many things in the past false flags and hoax's. For example, Sandy Hook doesn't make ANY sense. Along with Vegas being a false flag, no video recording of him, and he got all of those weapons up there without being noticed? It seems like a lot of people on this sub are […]